Bill Text Versions

Current Version - as introduced

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A bill for an actrelating to education; ensuring students are adequately prepared to be capable citizens able to fully participate in the political process;amending Minnesota Statutes 2018, sections 120B.024, subdivision 1; 120B.11, subdivisions 1, 1a; 120B.30, subdivision 1; 120B.36, subdivision 1.

Section 1.

Subdivision 1.

Graduation requirements.

Students deleted text beginbeginning 9th grade in the 2011-2012 school year and laterdeleted text end must successfully complete the following high school level credits for graduation:

(1) four credits of language arts sufficient to satisfy all of the academic standards in English language arts;

(2) three credits of mathematics, including an algebra II credit or its equivalent, sufficient to satisfy all of the academic standards in mathematics;

(3) an algebra I credit by the end of 8th grade sufficient to satisfy all of the 8th grade standards in mathematics;

(4) three credits of science, including at least one credit of biology, one credit of chemistry or physics, and one elective credit of science. The combination of credits under this clause must be sufficient to satisfy (i) all of the academic standards in either chemistry or physics and (ii) all other academic standards in science;

(5) three and one-half credits of social studies, new text beginincluding credit for a course in government and citizenship in either 11th or 12th grade for students beginning 9th grade in the 2020-2021 school year and later, and a combination of other credits new text endencompassing at least United States history, geography, government and citizenship, world history, and economics sufficient to satisfy all of the academic standards in social studies;

(6) one credit of the arts sufficient to satisfy all of the state or local academic standards in the arts; and

(7) a minimum of seven elective credits.

new text beginEFFECTIVE DATE.new text end

new text beginThis section is effective for the 2020-2021 school year and later.new text end

Sec. 2.

Subdivision 1.

Definitions.

For the purposes of this section and section 120B.10, the following terms have the meanings given them.

(a) "Instruction" means methods of providing learning experiences that enable a student to meet state and district academic standards and graduation requirements including applied and experiential learning.

(b) new text begin"Civic life" means the public life of citizens, concerning affairs of the community and nation, as contrasted with private or personal life, which is devoted to the pursuit of private and personal interests.new text end

new text begin(c) new text end"Curriculum" means district or school adopted programs and written plans for providing students with learning experiences that lead to expected knowledge and skills and career and college readiness.

deleted text begin(c)deleted text endnew text begin (d)new text end "World's best workforce" means striving to: meet school readiness goals; have all third grade students achieve grade-level literacy; close the academic achievement gap among all racial and ethnic groups of students and between students living in poverty and students not living in poverty; have all students attain career and college readiness before graduating from high school; and have all students graduate from high school.

deleted text begin(d)deleted text endnew text begin (e)new text end "Experiential learning" means learning for students that includes career exploration through a specific class or course or through work-based experiences such as job shadowing, mentoring, entrepreneurship, service learning, volunteering, internships, other cooperative work experience, youth apprenticeship, or employment.

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new text beginThis section is effective for the 2020-2021 school year and later.new text end

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Sec. 4.

Subdivision 1.

Statewide testing.

(a) The commissioner, with advice from experts with appropriate technical qualifications and experience and stakeholders, consistent with subdivision 1a, shall include in the comprehensive assessment system, for each grade level to be tested, state-constructed tests developed as computer-adaptive reading and mathematics assessments for students that are aligned with the state's required academic standards under section 120B.021, include multiple choice questions, and are administered annually to all students in grades 3 through 8. State-developed high school tests aligned with the state's required academic standards under section 120B.021 and administered to all high school students in a subject other than writing must include multiple choice questions. The commissioner shall establish one or more months during which schools shall administer the tests to students each school year.

(1) Students enrolled in grade 8 through the 2009-2010 school year are eligible to be assessed under (i) the graduation-required assessment for diploma in reading, mathematics, or writing under Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 120B.30, subdivision 1, paragraphs (c), clauses (1) and (2), and (d), (ii) the WorkKeys job skills assessment, (iii) the Compass college placement test, (iv) the ACT assessment for college admission, (v) a nationally recognized armed services vocational aptitude test.

(2) Students enrolled in grade 8 in the 2010-2011 or 2011-2012 school year are eligible to be assessed under (i) the graduation-required assessment for diploma in reading, mathematics, or writing under Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 120B.30, subdivision 1, paragraph (c), clauses (1) and (2), (ii) the WorkKeys job skills assessment, (iii) the Compass college placement test, (iv) the ACT assessment for college admission, (v) a nationally recognized armed services vocational aptitude test.

(3) For students under clause (1) or (2), a school district may substitute a score from an alternative, equivalent assessment to satisfy the requirements of this paragraph.

(b) The state assessment system must be aligned to the most recent revision of academic standards as described in section 120B.023 in the following manner:

(1) mathematics;

(i) grades 3 through 8 beginning in the 2010-2011 school year; and

(ii) high school level beginning in the 2013-2014 school year;

(2) science; grades 5 and 8 and at the high school level beginning in the 2011-2012 school year; and

(3) language arts and reading; grades 3 through 8 and high school level beginning in the 2012-2013 school year.

(c) For students enrolled in grade 8 in the 2012-2013 school year and later, students' state graduation requirements, based on a longitudinal, systematic approach to student education and career planning, assessment, instructional support, and evaluation, include the following:

(1) achievement and career and college readiness in mathematics, reading, and writing, consistent with paragraph (k) and to the extent available, to monitor students' continuous development of and growth in requisite knowledge and skills; analyze students' progress and performance levels, identifying students' academic strengths and diagnosing areas where students require curriculum or instructional adjustments, targeted interventions, or remediation; and, based on analysis of students' progress and performance data, determine students' learning and instructional needs and the instructional tools and best practices that support academic rigor for the student; and

(2) consistent with this paragraph and section 120B.125, age-appropriate exploration and planning activities and career assessments to encourage students to identify personally relevant career interests and aptitudes and help students and their families develop a regularly reexamined transition plan for postsecondary education or employment without need for postsecondary remediation.

Based on appropriate state guidelines, students with an individualized education program may satisfy state graduation requirements by achieving an individual score on the state-identified alternative assessments.

(d) Expectations of schools, districts, and the state for career or college readiness under this subdivision must be comparable in rigor, clarity of purpose, and rates of student completion.

A student under paragraph (c), clause (1), must receive targeted, relevant, academically rigorous, and resourced instruction, which may include a targeted instruction and intervention plan focused on improving the student's knowledge and skills in core subjects so that the student has a reasonable chance to succeed in a career or college without need for postsecondary remediation. Consistent with sections 120B.13, 124D.09, 124D.091, 124D.49, and related sections, an enrolling school or district must actively encourage a student in grade 11 or 12 who is identified as academically ready for a career or college to participate in courses and programs awarding college credit to high school students. Students are not required to achieve a specified score or level of proficiency on an assessment under this subdivision to graduate from high school.

(e) Though not a high school graduation requirement, students are encouraged to participate in a nationally recognized college entrance exam. To the extent state funding for college entrance exam fees is available, a district must pay the cost, one time, for an interested student in grade 11 or 12 who is eligible for a free or reduced-price meal, to take a nationally recognized college entrance exam before graduating. A student must be able to take the exam under this paragraph at the student's high school during the school day and at any one of the multiple exam administrations available to students in the district. A district may administer the ACT or SAT or both the ACT and SAT to comply with this paragraph. If the district administers only one of these two tests and a free or reduced-price meal eligible student opts not to take that test and chooses instead to take the other of the two tests, the student may take the other test at a different time or location and remains eligible for the examination fee reimbursement. Notwithstanding sections 123B.34 to 123B.39, a school district may require a student that is not eligible for a free or reduced-price meal to pay the cost of taking a nationally recognized college entrance exam. The district must waive the cost for a student unable to pay.

(f) The commissioner and the chancellor of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities must collaborate in aligning instruction and assessments for adult basic education students and English learners to provide the students with diagnostic information about any targeted interventions, accommodations, modifications, and supports they need so that assessments and other performance measures are accessible to them and they may seek postsecondary education or employment without need for postsecondary remediation. When administering formative or summative assessments used to measure the academic progress, including the oral academic development, of English learners and inform their instruction, schools must ensure that the assessments are accessible to the students and students have the modifications and supports they need to sufficiently understand the assessments.

(g) Districts and schools, on an annual basis, must use career exploration elements to help students, beginning no later than grade 9, and their families explore and plan for postsecondary education or careers based on the students' interests, aptitudes, and aspirations. Districts and schools must use timely regional labor market information and partnerships, among other resources, to help students and their families successfully develop, pursue, review, and revise an individualized plan for postsecondary education or a career. This process must help increase students' engagement in and connection to school, improve students' knowledge and skills, and deepen students' understanding of career pathways as a sequence of academic and career courses that lead to an industry-recognized credential, an associate's degree, or a bachelor's degree and are available to all students, whatever their interests and career goals.

(h) A student who demonstrates attainment of required state academic standards, which include career and college readiness benchmarks, on high school assessments under subdivision 1a is academically ready for a career or college and is encouraged to participate in courses awarding college credit to high school students. Such courses and programs may include sequential courses of study within broad career areas and technical skill assessments that extend beyond course grades.

(i) As appropriate, students through grade 12 must continue to participate in targeted instruction, intervention, or remediation and be encouraged to participate in courses awarding college credit to high school students.

(j) In developing, supporting, and improving students' academic readiness for a career or college, schools, districts, and the state must have a continuum of empirically derived, clearly defined benchmarks focused on students' attainment of knowledge and skills so that students, their parents, and teachers know how well students must perform to have a reasonable chance to succeed in a career or college without need for postsecondary remediation. The commissioner, in consultation with local school officials and educators, and Minnesota's public postsecondary institutions must ensure that the foundational knowledge and skills for students' successful performance in postsecondary employment or education and an articulated series of possible targeted interventions are clearly identified and satisfy Minnesota's postsecondary admissions requirements.

(k) For students in grade 8 in the 2012-2013 school year and later, a school, district, or charter school must record on the high school transcript a student's progress toward career and college readiness, and for other students as soon as practicable.

(l) The school board granting students their diplomas may formally decide to include a notation of high achievement on the high school diplomas of those graduating seniors who, according to established school board criteria, demonstrate exemplary academic achievement during high school.

(m) The 3rd through 8th grade computer-adaptive assessment results and high school test results shall be available to districts for diagnostic purposes affecting student learning and district instruction and curriculum, and for establishing educational accountability. The commissioner must establish empirically derived benchmarks on adaptive assessments in grades 3 through 8. The commissioner, in consultation with the chancellor of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, must establish empirically derived benchmarks on the high school tests that reveal a trajectory toward career and college readiness consistent with section 136F.302, subdivision 1a. The commissioner must disseminate to the public the computer-adaptive assessments and high school test results upon receiving those results.

(n) The grades 3 through 8 computer-adaptive assessments and high school tests must be aligned with state academic standards. The commissioner shall determine the testing process and the order of administration. The statewide results shall be aggregated at the site and district level, consistent with subdivision 1a.

(o) The commissioner shall include the following components in the statewide public reporting system:

(1) uniform statewide computer-adaptive assessments of all students in grades 3 through 8 and testing at the high school levels that provides appropriate, technically sound accommodations or alternate assessments;

(2) educational indicators that can be aggregated and compared across school districts and across time on a statewide basis, including average daily attendance, high school graduation rates, and high school drop-out rates by age and grade level;

(3) state results on the American College Test; and

(4) state results from participation in the National Assessment of Educational Progress so that the state can benchmark its performance against the nation and other states, and, where possible, against other countries, and contribute to the national effort to monitor achievement.

(p) For purposes of statewide accountability, "career and college ready" means a high school graduate has the knowledge, skills, and competencies to successfully pursue a career pathway, including postsecondary credit leading to a degree, diploma, certificate, or industry-recognized credential and employment. Students who are career and college ready are able to successfully complete credit-bearing coursework at a two- or four-year college or university or other credit-bearing postsecondary program without need for remediation.

(q) For purposes of statewide accountability, "cultural competence," "cultural competency," or "culturally competent" means the ability of families and educators to interact effectively with people of different cultures, native languages, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

new text begin(r) For purposes of statewide accountability, an understanding of "civic life" means student learning experiences that include activities such as: community problem solving; volunteering for a nonelectoral organization addressing a matter of public interest; participating as a member of a group or association addressing a matter of public interest; participating in a fund-raising walk, run, or ride for a publicly recognized charity; participating in a fund-raising effort for a publicly recognized charity; voting or persuading or registering others to vote; volunteering as an election judge; engaging in political speech in the school or community; volunteering for a candidate or political organization; contacting public officials or media organizations to express an idea or concern of public interest; or writing and e-mailing positions addressing a matter of public interest.new text end

new text beginEFFECTIVE DATE.new text end

new text beginThis section is effective for the 2020-2021 school year and later.new text end

new text begin(6)new text end longitudinal data on the progress of eligible districts in reducing disparities in students' academic achievement and realizing racial and economic integration under section 124D.861;

new text begin(7)new text end the acquisition of English, and where practicable, native language academic literacy, including oral academic language, and the academic progress of all English learners enrolled in a Minnesota public school course or program who are currently or were previously counted as English learners under section 124D.59;

new text begin(8) the percentage of students who graduated in the previous school year who correctly answered at least 30 of 50 civics test questions in accordance with section 120B.02, subdivision 3;new text end

new text begin(9)new text end two separate student-to-teacher ratios that clearly indicate the definition of teacher consistent with sections 122A.06 and 122A.15 for purposes of determining these ratios;

new text begin(12)new text end foster care status, including all students enrolled in a Minnesota public school course or program who are currently or were previously in foster care, student homelessness, and district mobility; and

new text begin(13)new text end extracurricular activities.

(b) The school performance report for a school site and a school district must include school performance reporting information and calculate proficiency rates as required by the most recently reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

(c) The commissioner shall develop, annually update, and post on the department website school performance reports consistent with paragraph (a) and section 120B.11.

(d) The commissioner must make available performance reports by the beginning of each school year.

(e) A school or district may appeal its results in a form and manner determined by the commissioner and consistent with federal law. The commissioner's decision to uphold or deny an appeal is final.

(f) School performance data are nonpublic data under section 13.02, subdivision 9, until the commissioner publicly releases the data. The commissioner shall annually post school performance reports to the department's public website no later than September 1, except that in years when the reports reflect new performance standards, the commissioner shall post the school performance reports no later than October 1.

new text beginEFFECTIVE DATE.new text end

new text beginThis section is effective the day following final enactment.new text end